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I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 

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f UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f 



ENGLAND'S DANGER 

AND 

HER SAFETY. 



A LETTER 

TO 

EARL RUSSELL, K.G., 

HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE 
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. 



BY 

FREDERICK MILNES EDGE. 

if 




S:..\ 



LONDON: 
WILLIAM BID G- WAY, 169, PICCADILLY. W. 

1864. 



TO THE 



RIGHT HON. EARL RUSSELL. 



My Loed, 

However desirous the people of this country 
and the Government of her Majesty may be to 
maintain amicable relations with Foreign Powers, 
the fact cannot be ignored that the peace of Europe 
rests upon a very uncertain basis. The pulse of the 
body politic — that most sensitive indicator the public 
funds — has beaten feverishly during* many weeks 
past j and the least unreasonable explanation that 
can be given for the excitement is a growing- appre 
hension in the minds of business men in this country, 
and on the Continent, of an approaching European 
war. 

It is very far from being the Schleswig-Holstein 
difficulty alone which menaces the peace of Europe* 
From the German and Atlantic oceans to the steppes 
of Russia and the mountains of India, the nations 
are restless and excited. The revolutions and insur- 
rections which started into being with the close of 
the American war of independence promise to break 
forth again with more than pristine force ; and all 
the probabilities are in favour of a widely different 

A 2 



4 



result from that of former years, for the march of 
intelligence and the hard-taught lessons of experi- 
ence have prepared the peoples of Europe for the 
impending* crisis. 

Great Britain is so interested in the maintenance 
of things as they are, that there is danger of our 
ignoring what has long been obvious to the outside 
world. We have nothing to gain by hostilities in 
an}' latitude, no u destiny" to accomplish, or " ideas" 
to develop by diplomacy or conquest ; every thing 
prompts us to maintain neutrality everywhere j and 
this being incontrovertibly our interest, there is a 
general tendency to disregard those causes and 
principles which militate against our welfare. 
Warnings innumerable have been given during the 
past ten years, but every additional warning only 
serves to blind us to future probabilities,, and to 
harden us in the belief that our stability is assured, 
and our prosperity immovable. We profess to believe 
in the maintenance of peace, and yet our actions for 
years past have belied our professions. Our military 
expenditure has increased in an unexampled ratio j 
we have thought it necessary to establish an enor- 
mous standing arm} r of volunteers, to maintain our 
regular army at its maximum, to increase our navy 
by never ending additions of expensive ships ; and, 
while we have continued on this course, other nations 
have striven to their utmost to keep pace with our- 
selves in military preparations. Why is this ? There 
is but one reasonable, one possible explanation, and 



5 



that is the universal conviction of a rapidly approach- 
ing* and general European war. 

The Emperor Napoleon III. merely gave ex- 
pression to a long held and universally felt opinion 
when he declared in the month of November last 
that the present political structure of Europe was too 
seriously shaken to longer exist; and that peace in 
the future could alone be possible by a thorough re- 
modelling* of the political map. He declared still 
further, that this necessity so apparent to all, was 
regarded by himself as a personal duty ; and having 
emphatically asserted that the peace of the Continent 
could no longer be maintained upon the existing 
bases, he showed conclusively that our accumulating 
complications must be resolved by peaceful diplo- 
matic concessions, or by resort to the sword. For- 
tunately for our country, the Emperor's invitation 
was courteously but firmly declined ; fortunately, 
because the proposed Congress would necessarily 
have led to a second Treaty of Vienna, or worse ; 
and Great Britain, the only liberal and truly con- 
servative nation in Europe, overwhelmed by the 
majority in the Congress, would perforce have been 
made a party to an arrangement which must have 
shackled her to the car of Continental policy and 
despotism through many succeeding years. Time 
may eventually enlighten us upon the true causes 
which induced the Emperor to issue his invitation, 
the animus of which was so apparent and therefore 



6 



so certain to be declined by a Power without whose 
concurrence the Congress became impossible. 

Did the Emperor deceive himself into the belief 
that Eugland would listen to the proposal ; or are 
we to imagine that any English statesman w r ould 
so far ignore the sentiment of his country as to lead 
the Emperor to suppose that such an invitation 
would be acceptable ? The idea of the Congress in 
its inception was not French but Russian, having' 
first been broached by the Czar in reply to the letters 
of the Western Powers on the subject of Poland : 
France, in adopting the suggestion of Russia, would 
naturally have acted with Russia upon the main 
questions discussed by the Congress, and Great 
Britain w r ould necessarily have found herself in a 
hopeless minority. Your Lordship's declension of 
the invitation avoided the dangers incident to the 
proposed council, and has incalculably increased 
the gratitude and confidence of the loyal subjects 
of the Crown, 

Great Britain's refusal to accede to the Emperor's 
proposal of a Congress, added to the events now 
transpiring in Denmark, have rendered the alter- 
native of peace almost impossible. This belief is 
general, and the nations of Europe are now arming* 
themselves for the seemingly unavoidable conflict. 

Will it be possible for Great Britain to hold aloof 
from a contest which all the omens prove to be 
imminent ? If carried away by the universal rush 



7 



to arms, on which side shall we draw our sword, 
and to whom have we now the right to look as our 
allies ? 

The last Message of the Emperor Napoleon, and, 
above all, his Letter to the Sovereigns of Europe, 
are not translated in France or on the Continent as 
in Great Britain. Here, these documents were 
received generally as showing a desire to prevent 
war; there, as a pretext for eventually engaging- 
in hostilities, coupled with a threat of arousing the 
revolutionary element in Europe. It is reasonable 
to suppose that the Emperor Napoleon is better 
understood in his own country than in ours. Such 
propositions as the following are neither conserva- 
tive nor peaceful • the most stolid intellect can 
only regard them as revolutionary and bellicose. 

u Cet appel, j'aime a le croire, sera entendu de 
u tous. Un refus ferait supposer de secrets qui 
" redoutent le grand jour ; mais quand meme la 
a proposition ne serait unaniment agreee, elle aurait 
a Timmense avantage d'avoir signale a l'Europe ou 
u est le danger, ou est le salut. 

u Deux voies sont ouvertes : Tune conduit au 
u progres par la conciliation et la paix ; l'autre, 
" tot ou tard, m£ne fatalement a la guerre par 
" Fobstination h maintenir un passe qui s'ecroule/' 
— (JDiscours de VEmpereur: prononce le 5 Nov. 
1863J 

" N'attendans pas pour prendre un parti que des 
u evenements soudains, irresistibles, troublent notre 



8 



"jugement et nous entralnent, malgre nous, dans 
" des directions contraires. # * * Appele au 
" tr6ne par la Providence et par la volonte du 
a peuple frangais, mais eleve a Fecole de Tadversite 
" il m'est peut-etre moins permis qu*& un autre 
u d'ignorer et les droits des souverains et les legi- 
cc times aspirations des peuples."— (Lettre de VEm- 
pereur aux Souverains de T Europe, 4 Novembre y 
1863.) 

The events now transpiring in Schleswig and 
Holstein ; the condition of affairs in Germany, and, 
above all, in Prussia j the struggle in Poland j the 
movements in Italy and Hungary ; the precarious 
status in Turkey and the Danubian Principalities ; 
all afford a startling comment upon this menace of 
the Emperor. There can be but one solution for 
these intricate complications. The day for diplo- 
matic compromises is well nigh past, and the sword 
must shortly sever the Gordian knot of so many 
difficulties. 

Were it possible for Great Britain to maintain 
neutrality in such a contest, there would be few, 
if any, Englishmen who would demur to the policy* 
We have never gained anything by our repeated 
interference in Continental affairs, and our manufac- 
turing and mercantile interests, so wonderfully 
increased during the present century, are additional 
reasons for continuing amicable relations with 
Foreign Powers. But these manufacturing and 
commercial interests require outlets, and a general 



9 



European war will certainly interfere with our 
markets, and possibly, not to say probabl} r , demand 
our interference. Great Britain is scarcely the 
Power at the present period that she was at the 
commencement of this century. The introduction 
of steam j our dependence upon foreign nations for 
a considerable portion of the food of our people ; the 
requirements of our manufacturing and commer- 
cial interests ; and, above all, the wonderful growth 
of a rival manufacturing and commercial Power, 
have placed us at a disadvantage as compared 
with other countries, — a disadvantage which, at 
all events did not exist to anything like an equal 
extent at the period of the last European war. 
More than any other nation our exceptional posi- 
tion compels us to cultivate peaceful relations with 
the outside world ; and, should we be forced into 
hostilities, we must obviously suffer incomparably 
more than others in the conflict- 

Our policy for some years past has not made us 
friends among the governments and peoples of 
Europe, and it would not be safe for us to count 
upon any of them as a friend or ally in a general 
war. Germany dislikes us for other reasons than 
our alliance with France, and the policy on which 
she has lately embarked may seriously affect our 
interests. Russia still smarts from her reverses in 
the Crimea, and her u destiny" in the East can only 
be possible of accomplishment when Great -Britain 
is powerless to prevent it. France will never give 



10 



up her "idea" of the Ehine boundary; and her 
Emperor may not only be too willing* to engage in 
war, not merely with the object of effecting the long* 
coveted annexation of the Rhenish Provinces, but, 
in addition, to silence the discussion of domestic 
concerns b}^ his people. Worst of all, the Power, 
which of all others can most damage our prosperity, 
has a lengthy catalogue of grievances against us 5 
and a dire probability exists that England's ex- 
tremit}^ may prove America's opportunity. With 
such a prospect, it would not be safe for us to go to 
war with even such an insignificant Power as 
Brazil. 

Were it not for the critical condition of our rela- 
tions with the United States, we might preserve 
our desired neutrality even in face of an European 
war. The only Power which can seriously interfere 
with our interests and prosperity is that Republic 
whose disintegration has been so ardently desired 
and so confidently predicted by many of our pro- 
minent statesmen, and whose commerce has been 
driven from the ocean by the instrumentality of 
subjects of Great Britain. If from no higher 
motive, it would be sound policy on our part to 
restore friendly relations with a government and 
people whose hostility must greatly prejudice us, 
and whose enmity in conjunction with that of others 
might, in process of time, accomplish our ruin. 

Since I had the honour of addressing your Lord- 
ship two months ago in reference to the destruction 



11 



of the United States' carrying-trade by piratical 
vessels of war — built, equipped, armed and manned 
within English jurisdiction and beneath English 
law — the circumstances of the case have undergone 
very material modification. The Government of 
Her Majesty ma}^ have been right in refusing com- 
pensation for the constantly increasing damage and 
loss caused by the cruisers of a Confederation which 
has no diplomatic existence, and that no Power in 
the civilized world has yet recognised. We may 
have been correct in assuming the position that our 
laws have no inherent force to compel obedience 
from our own people, and have properly shielded 
ourselves behind the opinions of Judges and other 
leg^al authorities who search the Courts and diction- 
aries of a foreign nation for precedents and defini- 
tions whereby to avoid an obvious and politic 
decision upon an issue of the greatest magnitude, 
one in which the peace and prosperity of our country 
are nearly and intimately involved. 

It is possible, my Lord, that the policy adopted 
by her Majesty's Government when the claim for 
compensation was first made by the Kepresentative 
of the United States at the Court of St. James', was 
not the exact one which would have been followed 
had it been possible to foresee the events of the past 
twelve months. Until the commencement of 1863, 
the so-called Confederacy had maintained its position 
and promised in its turn to become the invader; the 
North was apparently divided, and the result of the 



12 



elections in the Free States was unquestionably 
assumed in England, to prove that President 
Lincoln's government was in the minority, and the 
masses of the Northern people disgusted with the 
war. But her Majesty's advisers having at the 
outset decided upon a policy which appeared to con- 
duce most favourably to the interests of Great 
Britain, and more especially of her commerce, it 
was difficult to modify or change that policy, as the 
constitutional advisers of the Crown would thereby 
lay themselves open to the accusation of precipitancy 
and want of foresight at the outset. The position 
having been taken that her Majesty's Government 
was not responsible for the infringements by its own 
subjects of its laws, or rather of those enactments 
which, until the outbreak of the American war, were 
supposed to possess all the intention and force of 
laws — the ship-builders of the kingdom were left 
free to build vessels ad libitum, the very construc- 
tion of which proved their sole object to be the pur- 
suit of buccaneering ; whilst short-sighted men could 
rejoice over the increase of their own carrying-trade 
through the rapid and underhanded destruction of 
that of a friendly neighbour. 

We should have to look far back into history to 
find such a series of wanton atrocities as those per- 
petrated by the Anglo-Confederate privateers. The 
cruelties committed upon the Spanish Main were 
to some extent, carried on under colour of law, and 
the captures at all events benefited the assailants ) 



13 



but, in the present instance, no advantage is expected 
hoped for, or designed by the marauders ; nothing-, 
in fine, is claimed by them but the prosecution of a 
malignant spite, a hollow and useless revenge. 
Were there, my Lord, some tribunal of the Nations 
before which the American people might carry this 
terrible and increasing grievance, the English 
government and nation would assuredly be held 
responsible for the atrocities of these privateers. 
Applying the pertinent query u Qui bono V it would 
be found that whilst the self-stvled Confederates 
have in no sense advantaged themselves by the 
operations of these cruisers, the carrying trade of 
the United States has been vitally crippled and the 
commerce of the ocean mainly transferred to Eng- 
lish bottoms. In face of such a tribunal, as of pos- 
terity, we could never rid ourselves of the guilt of 
having lent our shipyards, our mechanics, our sym- 
path} 7 , and the multiplied eccentricities of our legal 
procedure to the successful working-out of this 
result ; and we should be condemned in all costs and 
damages on the incontrovertible maxim — qui facit 
per alkmij facit per se. 

It is no distortion of facts or of argument to as- 
sert that, without our inter mediary, the commerce 
of the United States would never have suffered as it 
has done during the last three years. When her 
Majesty's Government hastened, in advance of all 
other nations, to accord belligerent rights to the 
rebellious States of the American Union, the Con- 



14 

federates possessed no privateers, and had no visible 
means for obtaining them. Furthermore, a maritime 
population in that section of the Republic had not 
hitherto been supposed to exist ; and Great Britain 
was therefore placed in the anomalous position of 
recognizing' the belligerent rights of a power which 
did not, and could not of itself possess any bellige- 
rent capabilities whatever. For no one, my Lord, 
not even the most infatuated sympathiser with the 
objects of the Seceders, in or out of Parliament, 
would assume for a moment that the according of 
belligerent rights had any reference to the land 
operations of the contending forces ; it could only 
contemplate that arena which Nature has made the 
common domain of humanity, for there alone could 
the interests of non-combatants be at all imperilled. 
Must it be supposed that her Majesty's advisers 
were deceived as to the condition of the South and 
ignorant of its want of maritime resources ; or that 
they were previously made aware by what means 
the Confederates would eventually obtain the vessels, 
crews and armaments for destroying the commerce 
of their opponent ? 

The further this question is investigated, the more 
humiliating does the position of Great Britain ap- 
pear. When the Anglo-Confederate privateer 
"Alabama," or, as she was at first known, the "290/' 
managed to elude the vigilance of the officers of the 
Crown, the Government of her Majesty might to 
some extent shield itself from adverse criticism 



15 



under the plea of having* given orders to delay her 
departure. The excuse could certainly not be made 
that our Government was ignorant of the purposes 
for which the vessel was designed, for the represen- 
tative of the United States in London had given 
full and complete information upon this subject more 
than a month prior to the vessel's leaving Liverpool ; 
but the important question presents itself— by whom 
was intelligence conveyed to the owners of the Ala- 
bama of the intended seizure of the vessel ? If we 
accept the testimony of the officers of the privateer, 
they were forewarned by officers of her Majesty's 
Customs 3 but, in any case, it was impossible for 
them to obtain such information except by and 
through the subordinates of the Crown. The coun- 
try has yet to learn whether any investigation has 
been made of a matter so nearly concerning the in- 
terests of the kingdom ; for, according to the state- 
ments of Confederate officers, and the very nature 
of the case itself, the secrets of our Government 
may, it would appear, be divulged with impunity. 

The American Government and people have some 
colour for believing that no intention was ever enter- 
tained of arresting the " Alabama's" departure from 
Liverpool ; and that the warning privately conveyed 
to her owners was given with the object of ridding 
ourselves of responsibility. That warning was not 
conveyed, however, until all her preparations were 
completed ; and if her fitting out at Liverpool were 
in contravention of our laws, thus demanding her 



16 

seizure by the officers of the Crown, she was equally 
amenable to seizure everywhere within British juris- 
diction* Yet we find that the u Alabama" has fre- 
quently been in our Colonial waters and harbours, 
and, like her consorts, has invariably been permitted 
to stay as long* as her commander deemed neces- 
sary, and to depart when he saw fit. The following' 
extract from Our Cruise in the Confederate States 9 
War Steamer Alabama,* will show how the priva- 
teers of the Confederacy are received by British 
officials. 

" January 20th, 1863.— Land right ahead, — the 
cc western part of Jamaica. * * * stood towards 
a Port Royal. * * * anchored in Port Royal har- 
" bour. Received an official visit from the flag 4 - 
u ship. 21st, Our commander waited upon the 
u Governor for permission to land prisoners, and 
" effect the necessary repairs after our conflict. 
a Permission was readily granted" 

It would thus appear that what is illeg-al at 
Liverpool is perfectly correct in Jamaica ; and that 
a vessel in England, suspected merely of belligerent 
intentions, may be seized by officers of the Crown ; 
but, as soon as the suspicion gives place to absolute 
certainty, the offender is to receive every possible aid 
and comfort from the representatives of our Sove- 

# Our Cruise in the Confederate States' War Steamer Ala- 
hama* The private Journal of an Officer. From a Supplement 
to the South African Advertiser and Mail, Cape Town, Sep- 
tember 19, 1863. 



17 



reig n in her Colonies. Were it not for the oppor- 
tunity afforded to these privateers of refitting", coal- 
ings and discharging* prisoners within British juris- 
diction and under British protection, the marauders 
could not by any chance keep the ocean ; and yet 
no means have, it would seem, been taken to close 
our harbours to their operations. 

The case of the Anglo-Confederate privateer 
" Georgia" is still worse than that of the " Ala- 
bama." Many months of wanton destruction of 
United States' shipping* had shown the object for 
which the latter had sailed from the port of Liver- 
pool, and yet her consort was permitted to depart 
without difficulty. The " Georgia" purported to 
be owned by Thomas Bold, a British subject, and 
was registered in his name at Her Majesty's Cus- 
toms, Liverpool. That register w r as not changed 
until the 23rd of June, 1863; previous to which 
period she made several captures, amongst them the 
ship u George Griswold," returning home after bring- 
ing to this country the noble offering of American 
citizens to the starving operatives of Lancashire. In 
the journal of an officer of the privateer u Alabama," 
above referred to, there occurs this entry : — 

" 13th." (May, 1863)— " At 3 a.m., a steamer 
a was observed to anchor about two miles distant. 
u At daylight saw it was a brig-rigged screw stea- 
" mer, presenting unmistakeable signs of being a 
u war vessel. 8 a.m. Great was our astonishment 
w to see the stars and bars hoisted at her peak. 

B 



18 



" Private signals were exchanged. She then got 
" up steam and anchored near us. Soon after sent 
" a boat on board, when it was found to be the C.S. 
" St. £ Georgia/ 5 guns, Lieutenant Commander 
u Maury. Had captured one vessel" &c. &c. 

The vessel here referred to as captured, as well as 
others destroyed subsequently by the u Georgia," 
were the victims of a privateer registered in an 
English port and owned by a British subject ; said 
register remaining unchanged until six weeks later 
than the 18th of May. The country has yet to 
learn that Thomas Bold, the acknowledged owner of 
the " Georgia," has been required to give any expla- 
nation of his conduct in thus preying upon the 
commerce of a nation with whom we are at peace. 
It was formerly considered necessary for subjects of 
the British Crown, when engaged in privateering, 
to be provided with letters of marque before plying 
their vocation ; but it would appear by the events 
of the past three years that our laws— when the 
United States are concerned — are not expected to 
be enforced ; or, when attempted to be enforced, 
are proved to be meaningless and inoperative. 

Worse than either of the above cases is that of 
the " Rappahannock,'' until lately H.M.S. " Vic- 
tor." No one certainly will dare assume that the 
object of the purchase of this new vessel was known 
to our authorities ; but while exonerating the 
officers of the Government from all participation in 
the schemes of Confederate agents — proved conclu- 



19 



sively by the prosecution of one of the Government 
employees — it certainly does appear strange that a 
vessel of such a character could be sold without 
sufficient guarantees being* given as to the object of 
the purchase. The Confederate Government and 
its agents and tools in England must have been 
profoundly ignorant of our respect for international 
law, or egregiously vain of their ability to contra- 
vene our laws with impunity, ere they decided on a 
purchase which they well knew must seriously com- 
plicate our relations with the United States. But 
Confederate blindness and insults do not stop at the 
mere purchase : the vessel once in possession of 
their agent, repairs are immediately commenced 
upon her in the dockyard of Her Majesty at Sheer- 
ness. At the eleventh hour, when all the repairs 
are so near completion that the vessel may slip away 
at a moment's notice, it is found necessary to seize 
her ; but as in the instance of the 66 Alabama/' some 
" friend at court 79 gives timely warning, and the 
Anglo-Confederate privateer u Rappahannock/' late 
H.M.S. "'Victor," steams away from a Government 
dockyard, in charge of a Government pilot, and 
arrives safely at Calais. This is the second instance 
in which British officials have been outwitted bv 
Confederate emissaries in league with English agents; 
and it is due to the honour and reputation of our 
Government that the modus operandi should be 
sifted thoroughly, so as to discover by whose 
treachery the representatives of Mr. Jefferson Davis 

B 2 



20 



in England obtain such early and precise intelli- 
gence upon the intentions of Her Majesty's advisers. 

But these privateers, my Lord, are far from 
being* the only shipping- engaged in the service of 
the so-called Southern Confederacy. There is a 
fleet of many vessels occupied in carrying ammuni- 
tion^ coals, and stores of all kinds to these bucca- 
neers ; every one of them, so far as known, sailing 
under the English flag, manned by English sailors, 
and registered in an English port. The following 
extracts from u Our Cruise in the Confederate States' 
War Steamer Alabama/' give the names of some 
of the vessels. 

" On the 18th/' (August 1862) "a sail was 
" observed making for the anchorage. In the even- 
" ing she anchored near us, when we found her to 
u be the 6 Aggripina/ of London, Captain McQueen, 
" ha ving on board six guns, with ammunition, coals, 
ec stores, &c, for us. Preparations were immedi- 
" ately made to transfer her cargo. On the after- 
" noon of the 20th, while employed discharging the 
(i barque, the screw steamer 6 Bahama/ Captain 
" Tessier, arrived, having on board Commander 
" Raphael Semmes and officers of the Confederate 
" States' steamer ' Sumter/ Hauled steamer 
u alongside, taking from her two thirty-two 
u pounders, with some stores, &c, which took us 
u until the following day/' 

u 18th," (November) — a 9'30 came to an anchor 
u in Port Royal harbour, Martinique. * * * Our 



21 



" store-ship ' Aggripina' was lying' laden with coal 
u for our use. Letters were received by many on 
" boards 

"20th," (January 1863)— « Land right ahead, 
u the western part of Jamaica. # * * Anchored in 
a Port Royal harbour. Received an official visit 
u from the flag'-ship. 21st, our commander waited 
u upon the Governor for permission to land pri- 
" soners, and effect the necessary repairs after our 
" conflict. Permission was readily granted. * m * 
u Hauled the brig- c Reindeer/ of London, along- 
" side, and commenced coaling*, repairing* damages, 
" caulking*, &c." 

" 19th," (May) — 66 Received an intimation from the 
" authorities (Bahia) to the effect, that as they had 
cc strong* suspicions that the bark c Castor,' of Liver- 
"pool, lying* there with coal for the 'Georgia/ had 
" also a quantity of arms, &c. to be transferred to the 
u 'Alabama/ they could not permit us to coal from 
u her. So took coal from the shore." 

Were it possible to obtain the complete list of all 
the vessels eng*ag*ed in supplying* the u Alabama" 
and her consorts with stores, without which their 
operations w 7 ould be impossible of continuance, there 
would be found a considerable squadron, sailing* 
under the English flag from London, Liverpool and 
other parts of the kingdom, with all the regularity 
of a recognised and lawful commerce. It would be 
no very difficult matter to obtain such a list, for 
there are so many parties concerned in the business 



22 



that the affair is openly talked of in our principal 
seaports. The Government of the Southern Con- 
federacy has, in fact 3 established its Naval Depart- 
ment in Great Britain : its vessels are constructed 
in our shipyards ; its g*uns ; ammunition, coals and 
stores are purchased and paid for here ) and its 
crews are almost entirely composed of British sub- 
jects and enlisted within English jurisdiction. 
Among-st the crew of the privateer " Alabama/' the 
following' persons are declared to be subjects of 
Great Britain by a seaman w r ho lately quitted that 
vessel, and is at the present time in England. His 
evidence might lead to the detection of those mer- 
chants and others, in Liverpool and elsewhere, who 
are acting as agents of Mr. Davis' Naval Depart- 
ment. 

David H, Llewellyn. (Assistant Swgeon) 

James Low. (4<th Lieutenant.) 

M. J. [Freeman. (Chief Engineer.) 

Henry Alcott. (Sailmaker.) 

Geo. T. Fulham. (Master's mate.) 

"William Forestall. (Quartermaster.) 

~R. Masters. (Gunner.) 

G-eorge Addison. (Seaman.) 

F. Townsend. „ 

H. Fisher. „ 

"William Purdy. „ 

Thomas Welch. „ 
Edward Fitzsimmons. „ 

Thomas Potter. „ 

Samuel Williams. „ 

Edgar Tripp. „ 

James Busman. „ 

George Addison. „ 

George Yeoman. „ 
George Freemantle. „ 

F. Johns. „ 
John Eoberts. 



John Duggan. (Seaman.) 

Thomas McMullen. „ 

Peter Henry. „ 

Charles Goodwin. „ 

James Hicks. „ 
John McAlee. 
George Egerton. 
James MeFaden. 
Martin Molk. 
William McGinley. 

Joseph Neil. „ 

Martin King. „ 

Joseph Pearson. „ 

Joseph Conner. „ 
Thomas Weir. (Gunnel*' s mate.) 



23 



Edward Earner. (Ship's ear- O, Duffy. (Fireman.) 

penter.) Peter Duncan. „ 

P. Bradley. (Fireman.) Andrew Shilling. „ 

J. Origen. „ Thomas Winter. „ 

Thomas Murphy. „ 

The following' seamen of the " Alabama" are 
stated to belong to the Royal Naval Reserve. 

William Crawford. 
W. Brinton. 
P. Hughes. 
W. Hearn. 
J. Emory. 
S. Henry. 
M. Mars. 
M. Marfarland. 
Joseph Conner. 
Eobert Williams. 
Thomas Williams. 
Joseph Duggan. 
Samuel Henry. 
John Neil. 
William Nevins. 
David Roach. 
James Smith. 
J. Latham. 
Brent Johnson. 

It is also asserted on the testimony of many witnes- 
ses, that the men engaged on these privateers are paid 
by orders upon business firms in Liverpool and other 
of our seaports. Ample evidence to this effect might 
be forthcoming when the Government decides that 
the embarking of English subjects in such operations 
Ls not exactly consonant with our law r s, or consistent 
with the neutrality proclaimed by the Sovereign. 



24 



It will, of course, be assumed by some parties, as 
it has been hitherto in and out of Parliament, that 
all these acts relating' to the a Alabama," and other 
privateers, are strictly within the bounds of neu- 
trality ; that the Government of our Queen has no 
right to interfere with what they are pleased to term, 
" the operations of trade and commerce and that 
the United States have no just claims for damage 
on account of destruction of their shipping 4 by Eng- 
lish built, English armed, and English manned crui- 
sers. The Government and people of the United 
States view the matter in a totally different light. 
On the 6th of October, 1863, the American Secre- 
tary of State wrote as follows to the United States' 
Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of St. J ames. 

.Si. «M» 4& •St' M. j*. 

at. ij^. »7v" »JS" W "7T w 

" The United States understand that they are at peace with 
Great Britain, and that that power is obliged by treaties and 
international law to refrain, and to restrain its subjects from 
making war against the United States. Her Majesty's govern- 
ment probably concur in the legal principle thus asserted. The 
United States understand the facts in the case of the Alabama 
in a different sense from that which is accepted by Earl Rus- 
sell. They understand that the Alabama is a pirate ship of 
war, roving over the seas capturing, burning, sinking and de- 
stroying American vessels, without any lawful authority from 
the British government or from any other sovereign power, in 
violation of the law of nations, and contemptuously defying all 
judicial tribunals equally of Great Britain and all other states. 
The United States understand that she was purposely built for 
war against the United States, by British subjects in a British 
port, and prepared there to be armed and equipped with a 
specified armament adapted to her construction for the very 
piratical career which she is now pursuing ; that her armament 
and equipment, duly adapted to this ship of war and no other, 
were simultaneously prepared by the same British subjects in 
a British port, to be placed on board to complete her prepara- 
tion for that career ; that when she was ready and her arm a- 



25 



merit and equipment were equally ready, she was clandestinely 
and by connivance sent by her British holders, and the arma- 
ment and equipment were at the same time clandestinely sent 
through the same connivance by the British subjects, who had 
prepared them, to a common port outside of British waters, 
and there the armament and equipment of the Alabama as a 
ship of war were completed, and she was sent forth on her 
work of destruction with a crew chieily of British subjects, 
enlisted in and proceeding from a British port, in fraud of the 
laws of Great Britain, and in violation of the peace and sove- 
reignty of the United States. The United States understand 
that the purpose of the building, armament and equipment, 
and expedition of the vessel, was one single criminal intent, 
running equally through the building and the equipment and 
the expedition, and fully completed and executed when the 
Alabama was finally despatched, and that this intent brought 
the whole transaction of building, armament and equipment, 
within the lawful jurisdiction of Great Britain, where the main 
features of the crime were executed. The United States 
understand that they gave sufficient and adequate notice to the 
British government, that this wrongful enterprise was begun 
and was being carried out to its completion ; aud that upon 
receiving this notice, her Majesty's government were bound by 
treaty obligations, and by the law of nations to prevent its 
execution, and that if the diligence which was due had been 
exercised by the British government, the expedition of the 
Alabama would have been prevented, and the wrongful enter- 
prise of British subjects would have been defeated. The 
United States confess that some effort was made by her Ma- 
jesty's government, but it was put forth too late and was too 
soon abandoned. Upon these principles of law and these 
assumptions of fact, the United States do insist, and must 
continue to insist that the British government is justly respon- 
sible for the damages which the peaceful, law-abiding citizens 
of the United States sustain by the depredations of the Ala- 
bama. I cannot, therefore, instruct you to refrain from pre- 
senting the claims which you have now in your hands of the 
character indicated. 

" In saying this, however, it is not to be that the United 
States intend to act dogmatically, or in a litigious spirit. They 
are seriously and earnestly desirous to maintain, not only peace, 
but even amity, with Great Britain. They understand how 
unavoidably grievances have reciprocally arisen out of the di- 
vergence of policies, which the two countries have adopted in 
regard to the present insurrection. This Government thinks 
it understands, and in some measure appreciates, the difficulties 
and embarrassments under which her Majesty's Government 



26 



are labouring, resulting from the pressure of interests and 
combinations of British subjects, calculated to compromise the 
neutrality which her Majesty has proclaimed, and tending to 
compromise the two countries in a destructive maritime war. 
This Government confesses very freely, that it does not regard 
the present hour as one that is entirely favourable to a calm 
and candid examination of either the facts or the principles 
involved in such cases as the Alabama. It looks forward 
to a period when our intestine war shall have ceased, and 
the interests and passions which it has awakened abroad 
as well as at home, shall have subsided and disappeared. 
Though indulging a confident belief in the correctness of our 
positions in regard to the claims in question, and others, we 
shall be willing at all times hereafter, as well as now, to consider 
the evidence and the arguments which her Majesty's Govern- 
ment may offer, to show that they are invalid, and if we shall 
not be convinced, there is no fair and just form of conventional 
arbitrament or reference to which we shall not be willing to 
submit them. Entertaining these views, the President thinks 
it proper for you to inform Earl Russell that you must continue 
to give him notice of claims of the character referred to when 
they arise, and that you shall propose to furnish him the evi- 
dence upon which they rest, as is customary in such cases, in 
order to guard against ultimate failure of justice. If he shall 
decline to receive the evidence, you will cause it to be duly 
registered and preserved, to be presented when a suitable occa- 
sion shall hereafter occur for renewing and urging prosecution 
of the claims. 

" I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

" William H. Sewakd." 
" Chaeles Ekancis Adams, Esq., &c, &c, &c." # 

Unfortunately for us^ these are not the only 
claims for damages which the United States urge 
against us ; and which ; sooner or later, in coin or 
kind, they may exact from us. However conscien- 
tiously the Government of our Queen may have 
struggled to preserve neutrality between the belli- 

# Message of the President of the U. S. to the two Houses 
of Congress at the commencement of the 38th Congress. Offi- 
cial Eeport, Part 1, pp. 447, 448, 449. 



27 



gerents, there is no disputing- the fact that the sym- 
pathies and well-wishes of the governing class in 
Great Britain have, from the commencement of the 
war, been unmistakeably in favour of the rebellious 
States and their objects. Your Lordship faithfully 
represented the opinion of most Englishmen on the 
American question in the declaration that u the 
feeling of the majority was in favour of the North;" 
but, unfortunately, the majority of our people have 
no votes, and a very slight influence, if any, upon 
the national policy. The men of the Northern 
States know full well that the influence of our go- 
verning class, in every possible way short of openly- 
avowed interference, has from the outset and con- 
tinuously been given to those States which are in 
rebellion against lawful government, and that sym- 
pathy, aid, and comfort have been accorded, not by 
any means to assist in the formation of a second 
Republic on the American Continent, but simply 
with the hope and intent of dividing- and eventually 
destroying a nation whose strength was supposed 
by them to menace our prosperity, and whose sys- 
tem of government they considered a reflection upon 
their own. Statesmen have constantly advocated 
this divide pro imperare policy during the past three 
years, and the leading organs of our newspaper 
press have reiterated the idea in articles which have 
been republished in America and circulated through 
the length and breadth of the land. The threat, 
Delenda est Carthago, has been openly avowed by 



28 



influential men of all parties in the three kingdoms j 
and however desirous the Government at Washing- 
ton may be to avoid complications for the present, 
the time is not far distant when the entire body of 
the American people, smarting* from the injustice of 
such a policy, may compel their Government to exact 
compensation for the destruction of their commerce, 
and for the aid and comfort rendered to the rebellion 
by jealous and short-sighted Englishmen. 

A threat, openly avowed, or covertly hinted at, 
of disastrous consequences to ourselves if we refuse 
to make compensation to the United States for 
damages arising from our non-agreement with their 
Government on the rights of secession, belligerency, 
and kindred subjects, would certainly not be received 
with favour by the people of this country. We 
have yet to learn that any such menace, open or 
otherwise, has been made, directly, or indirectly, by 
the American Government, or by any of its repre- 
sentatives. We have your Lordship's authority 
that no such threat has been made, and }^our Lord- 
ship's public career must long since have satisfied 
the world, as it has certainly has every right-minded 
Englishman, that no such threat could be held out 
to you with impunity. There are considerations in- 
volved in our dealings with the United States of in- 
comparably greater weight than servile fear, namely, 
the preservation of our honour, and the advocacy 
of the same justice towards other nations which 



29 



characterises men of honour in dealing 1 with each 
other. 

But for those political aspirants who are now 
seeking- to misrepresent the foreign policy of her 
Majesty's Government, in order to g-ain credit for a 
boldness they never possessed to any remarkable 
degree when in office, there is a consideration which 
must be overwhelming. The United States have, 
hitherto, been merely a defensive Power ; the pre- 
sent year will prove them capable, if necessity re- 
quire, of carrying 1 on offensive operations on the 
grandest scale. What, thus far, they have pleaded 
as simple justice, they will shortly have the strength 
to demand as a rig*ht ; and unless Great Britain be 
desirous of swarms of Alabamas and Georgias in 
every sea and ocean preying 1 on her commerce, jus- 
tice will be awarded them for the ravages of English- 
built and English-sustained privateers. The very 
assumption by your Lordship's opponents of a 
cringing- policy towards the United States, taken, in 
connection with the utter absence of any proof to 
the accusation, will certainly lead the people of Great 
Britain to infer that the accusers are susceptible of 
such influences. These nervously brave gentlemen, so 
jealous of the national reputation for courage, and 
yet so afraid that no one possesses that quality but 
themselves, have now a splendid opportunity for 
conciliating* the American people, and that too 
without the possibility of any reflection upon their 
boldness or patriotism. 



30 



The negro-owning*, slavery-perpetuating", repu- 
diating* Confederacy of Mr. Jefferson Davis, has 
proved itself g'uilty of five several assaults upon 
our flag* and sovereignity, each one more glaring 1 
than the affair of the Trent. 

lstly. The so-called Southern Confederacy has 
organized an army on British soil, for the 
purpose of making war upon a nation with 
whom our Queen is at peace. 
2ndly. It has raised a band of desperadoes 
within our jurisdiction, and committed piracy 
on the high seas. 
3rdly, It has avowedly sent agents and moneys 
to this country, for the purpose of building 
and fitting" out vessels-of-war, in contravention 
of our laws, and the order of our Queen. 
4thly. It has enlisted men in the ports of Great 
Britain, with the avowed object of carrying 
on hostilities with a friendly nation. 
5thly. Its privateers dishonour our flag* by 
- using that emblem of our nationality and free- 
dom as a decoy to lure harmless merchantmen 
to destruction. 
In view of these facts, your Lordship's opponents 
will, it is to be hoped, bring* these insults of Mr. 
Davis' Confederacy before the notice of Parliament. 
We may fairly assume that a demand for papers 
on the question coming* from these gentlemen, 
would not meet with a refusal from her Majesty's 



31 



Government, however much it might surprise h 
Majesty's subjects. 

I have the honour to be. 
My Lord, 
Your Lordship's most obedient, 
and very humble Servant, 

FEEDERICK MILNES EDGE. 



London, February 18^, 1864. 



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